It’s April, and Much Like Spring, I Have Finally Returned

April showers bring May flowers,
That is what they say,
But if all the showers turned to flowers,
We’d have quite a colorful day!

–From April Showers Bring May Flowers, by Karen Chappell

I’m back, and SO glad that April is finally here! March is definitely the longest and busiest month of the year. Or maybe it just feels that way?

Hey March! You Suck.

March, in a nutshell, is thirty-one days of mostly gray skies, chilly days, freezing nights, abundant rain, brown, muddy lawns, looming threats of snow, and zero days off from work.

Ah, work. Work is pretty rough during the muddy, moody, mundane month of March. State tests loom in the not-too-far-off distance. The cold/rain/snow on the ground keeps windows closed and recess inside. The majority of students (and most teachers) are a fun combo of restless, moody, overworked, and tired all. month. long. Indeed, I’m super glad the curtain has closed on your act for the year, March. Take a bow, then please GTFOH.

As Mr. March exits stage left, it’s Mrs. April turn to shine! Week one of April reached its conclusion just yesterday, and it was a week certainly worthy of review!

How do I love thee, April? Let me count four ways thus far.

1: Classic East, Here We Come!

EAGLES TICKETS I HAVE EAGLES TICKETS I CAN’T WAAAIT!!

Eagles – One of These Nights 1977 Live) by BertramKinder

SO GOOD. Nobody sings those high notes like Randy Meisner. I so wish he was still performing. Sigh and swoon.

Greatness Times SIX BANDS!!
The Classic East show this summer is one of only TWO performances this year to feature the following LEGEND-FILLED 6-band lineup:
Night 1: Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Eagles
Night 2: Earth, Wind, and Fire, Journey, Fleetwood Mac.
AND I HAVE TWO TICKETS FOR BOTH NIGHTS.
S10 and I are going to party like its 1979!!
HOLLA!!

After the sad, unexpected, way-too-soon passing of Eagles band leader Glenn Frey last year, I figured the odds of the Eagles ever touring again were nil. So it was a huge shock to hear that they would be headlining not one, but two performances in July, 2017: Classic East in New York City, and Classic West out in Los Angeles.

There was no way to resist the urge to buy tickets. As soon as I learned of this show, I was going, and that was that.

Classic East is the fourth major show for me in 2017. Well, fifth, actually, if you count Sesame Street Live. First, S10 and I saw Dancing with the Stars, Live! in January, then Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on

Broadway in February. Next, S2 and I went to Sesame Street last month. In June, Mike and I will be seeing current Eagle Joe Walsh as a solo act opening for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in Connecticut. Finally, the Classic East show is at the end of July. Woohoo!

 

Eagles – Turn to Stone – Houston 1976 by hansonataint

My favorite Eagles lineup, 1976, performing one of Joe Walsh’s solo hits. SO GOOD.

The biggest question I have regarding the Eagles performance at the Classic East show is this: WHO will be taking over the late Glenn Frey’s vocals? Frey sang lead on something like 40% of the Eagles catalog and about half of their biggest hits, so they wouldn’t just avoid playing his songs, would they?

An Eagles show without Take It Easy?

GTFOH. Them’s fightin’ words. Don’t even think about it, Henley.

Besides Eagles, I’m also really looking forward to Fleetwood Mac who is headlining night 2. The best lineup of FM is still in tact, too. Awesome. I LOVE Stevie Nicks’ voice.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT1q7L4QA0A[/embedyt]
She is amazing. The Queen of 1970s rock music.

I’m excited to see the Doobie Brothers, though Michael McDonald isn’t with them any longer. That’s a damn shame! I also LOVE Journey, but with no Steve Perry, are they really Journey? I’ll just have to wait to find out.
I CAN’T WAIT!!!

2: Resistance is LulaFutile

I have finally come to the much-needed conclusion that the extra 20 lbs I’ve been sporting since S2’s birth can no longer be attributed to “baby weight” any longer. My baby is almost 3 years old, for Fs sake. It’s not baby weight; it’s pizza and potato chip weight now. I’ve known that for a while. Plus:

Am I really ever going to make the time to work out on a semi-regular basis?

Probably not anytime soon.

Is my metabolism what it used to be?

That’s a good one, LOL. NO.

Therefore, can I reasonably expect to fit into my pre-S2 size 7-8 clothes anytime in the near future?
No. Nope. Nyet. Fuggetaboutit.

In the spirit of being honest with myself, I’ve started purging

my skinny girl wardrobe as an act of acceptance of my new Mom Bod. Plus, I need to make room in my dresser for the wardrobe of Jill: Expanded Edition.

A few weeks ago, as I began emptying my dressers and closets of too-small clothing, I realized that I actually don’t have a lot of clothes that fit my, new, uh, physique. I needed to buy clothes! No wonder I feel like I am always wearing the same thing to work. I probably am!

However, I HATE clothes shopping. I hate all of it: the dressing rooms, the lighting, using a shopping cart, the idea of, well, people. I needed to try something new to avoid shopping hell. A fad. An expensive, somewhat cultish fad, actually.

And I love it.

Damn you, Lula God Damn Roe.

I hang my head in shame now, but when I get a package of OS

leggings, Amelia or Nicole dresses, Classic Ts, and/or Randy shirts, it’s like LulaChanukah. My coworker brought in a basket of leggings last week, and I spent a whopping $96 on four pairs of leggings during my lunch break. (Sorry Mike).

$96 for four pairs of effing leggings. Two pair for me at $25 a pop, and a pair each for S2 and S10’s Easter baskets at $23 a pop.

If you had asked me 5 years ago about spending $25 on one pair of leggings, I’d say GTFOH. Them leggings better come with a new body for $25 a pop.

Now I SEEK OUT those $25 leggings. I wear patterned leggings for the first time in my life, ever. I speak the language of Lularoe. Do you know what a ‘unicorn’ is? Here is a hint: it’s not this:

LulaRoe, I hate that I love you, but I do. Ain’t no lie, those leggings are soft AF. And because of LulaRoe, my wardrobe has received quite an upgrade, and FAST. With more on the way as I type! Indeed, I’m comfortable, I look good, I feel good, and BONUS: I haven’t left my house once! Plus, my friends who are consultants are getting my money, rather than some faceless corporation. Can’t put a price on that. I’m Roeing hard, with no sign of stopping anytime soon!

3: They See Me Rollin….They Hatin’

While April began with lots to celebrate, conversely, March ended with lots of stress. Two weeks ago, on my Tuesday afternoon commute to S2’s weekly swim lesson, I found myself involved in a minor car accident. One that yes, was totally my fault, and no, nobody was hurt, thank heavens.

Never in my life have I caused any sort of car accident before that day. I drive pretty much like an old lady, and my license is sparkling clean. That gray March afternoon,  I heard a rustle on the passenger seat floor as I turned off the exit ramp. I looked down and saw that my bookbag had rolled forward, which was not a big deal at all. So I glanced back up at the road after what seemed to be about a 2-second distraction, and suddenly, the car in front of me was dangerously close to my own. Too close.

I’m sure you can figure out what happened next.

I tried apologizing to the woman whose car I hit, but she refused to look at or talk to me for some reason. So I sat in my car, waiting for the police to arrive, feeling guilty AF.

I was SO fortunate that the officer that showed up was a really nice guy who seemed to be in a very good mood. When I described why the accident occurred, he was sympathetic and understanding and didn’t even issue me a ticket! He said although he could have ticketed me, accidents happen.

HOW LUCKY AM I??

Unfortunately, my poor Ford Fiesta sustained more damage then the other car. A lot more. My hood was all messed up, and the driver’s side headlight was annihilated. At first, Mike and I tried getting it repaired, but the recommendation by the insurance inspector was that we total it instead. So that’s what we did, and received a check for the car which we planned to put down on a new ride right away.

At first, the idea of buying a new car made me sad. I had just paid off the Fiesta in December, and was looking forward to having no car payment for some time. I got over the sadness quickly, however, when the insurance company sent me an e-mail offering a deep discount on a new Jeep.

A Jeep? Holla!

I’ve always wanted a convertible. Mike has always wanted a

Jeep. With fingers crossed, we headed to a Jeep dealership to see what they could do for us.

I found this out: Jeeps ain’t cheap. Especially the Wrangler, which is what we wanted. But it also holds its value, so paying a little more could be advantageous in the long run. But new Wranglers were still expensive enough to cause me pause, even with the insurance discount. Our sales guy then suggested seeing what pre-owned Wranglers he had as an alternative, and we were on board with that.

He found four pre-owned Wranglers. One had over 100,000 miles, one had 70,000, and one had 60,000. I said no to all three just due to mileage alone. I won’t spend a boatload of money for a car with a ton of mileage; that’s just dumb.

The last pre-owned Wrangler at the dealership had 26,000 miles. It was also a 4 door, convertible, black, 2014 Wrangler which was exactly what we wanted.

Sometimes the stars do align in your favor.

Mike’s first question after purchase: “So you’re going to drive the Volvo to work, right?”

HAHAHA. Sure. I’ll humor the guy for now, but we be sharin’ that whip in the future.

Currently, I have quite a happy husband.

4: Spring Break, Middle Aged Mom Style

After 7 straight weeks of school with zero vacation days, yesterday marked the last day of work for 9 glorious days.

So, do I have plans for the break?

Can I get a HELL NO? HELL YES!

At age almost-40, ain’t nothing better than just doing nothing. THAT is a vacation for me at this point. Indeed, that’s exactly what I plan to do for the next 9 days!

Thanks for reading. Until next time!